Taking Lives - Daily Script - Movie Scripts and Movie ...

1 Taking LivesbyJon Bokenkampbased on the novel byMichael Pyeprevious revisions byNicholas KazanH. SeitzDavid AyerEARLY DRAFTF ebruary 28, 2003 FADE IN:INT. BUS STATION - DAYSUPERIMPOSE: 17 YEARS AGOS mall, Canadian, rural. Just the Native American CASHIER jotting down sports stats from the paper. MARTIN, 16,enters. Slight, pale and frail, new clothes, a tag stillhangs from his stiff work jacket. Martin stands in frontof the Cashier a beat. Nervously tugs an Sir, may I have a ticket toMontreal please?CASHIERP ardon?MARTINI need a ticket to , sir. pulls out an envelope filled with crisp twentiesand carefully counts out three. The Cashier gives Martinhis ticket and change. Points at a bus outside. TheDRIVER loading BUS - DAYA half dozen PASSENGERS. Martin steps aboard, takes aseat.

2 DAN SOULSBY, Martin's age, sits next to him,offers a hand. Martin Nice to meet you heading to?MARTINAway from here.(CONTINUED)Dan produces a couple beers from his pockets. OffersMartin least it's cold 's to getting CLINK CANS. The Driver enters the bus. Unlocks theairbrakes. Puts the bus in reverse, gives it ! The ENGINE throws a rod. Horrible wafts into the windows. The Driver KILLS theENGINE. Silence. Martin and Dan trade was bad.(bummed)It's gonna take all day to getanother bus sighs, looks out the car rental fingers the envelope of cash in his have a license?DANHad one. They took it got one. Let's drives. JOURNEY ON the RADIO. Martin checks outDan's guitar. Dan shows Martin his that? They're all fake.(CONTINUED)CONTINUED:WHAT MARTIN SEESBACK TO SCENEINT.

3 RENTAL CAR - MOVING - take a hockey puck in theface?DANA fist. My stepdad socked me. Iflew across the room and dentedthe sheetrock in the kitchen. Mymom saw everything and still tookhis got cracked hate that guy. Two hundredpounds of worthless 'd he hit you?DANI wrecked his sixty-five Mustangand his boat in the same babies. I totaled would have popped you was worth it. But I didn'tdeserve the tour in rubs his close-cropped 't ever go to military schoolif you can help it. It sucks.(a beat)I jumped the wall two days going back?DANI'm done with that racket. I'mgoing to Seattle and tries the guitar, he's not that know some you can learn drums? land rolls endlessly. Martin drives. Dan plays hisguitar. He's really 'm the next Billy Squire. Krokuswill be opening for me one !

4 The CAR HITS a BOTTLE. A front tire guides the crippled vehicle to the middle of nowhere. Martin flips a coin. hauls the spare from the trunk. Sets the jack underthe PICKUP TRUCK approaches. Still a mile watches Dan lean in the trunk for the tire pickup gets closer, a big one. Heavy with bags ofanimal feed. looking at Dan's back. Martin shoves Dan hard,into the highway. In front of:WHAM! It plasters Dan. He goes over the hood, SHATTERSthe front WINDSHIELD. Bounces off, spins like a rag dollinto a pickup has lost control, it rolls. Several times, aheaving mass of ! The TRUCK folds itself around a husky tree. Nosurvivors, that's can't believe what he has just done. He takes in thecarnage, tugs at his : PRESENT DAYESTABLISHING the river-bound city.

5 RENTAL CAR - MOVING - DAYEXT. HIGHWAY - DAYTHE GRILL OF THE PICKUPMARTINEXT. MONTREAL - large Ferry plies the unstoppable waters. Glidingtoward signs in French. Crowded with PASSENGERS waiting toboard. As more PASSENGERS pour off the just-docked WOMAN runs through the crowd. Terror etched in herface. She knocks aside several PEOPLE. Runs toward arow of restaurants. Even in her turmoil, she ispatrician, BEAT COPS eat at an outdoor table. Laid back. TheWOMAN approaches them, just saw my dead son get off COPS trade to me; he's been deadeighteen years. He just walkedright past INSPECTOR pours the Woman tea. She has calmed takes his pen, looking at her need to open that grave. Itcan't be my son in lost my mother two years day I think I see to work in the car next tome.

6 At mass. Shopping, I seeher, but this is someone else'smother. You see?The Woman lays a hand on his arm, looks him in the is something formidable about her.(CONTINUED)EXT. ST. LAWRENCE RIVER - DAYEXT. FERRY PIER - DAYEXT. PIER-SIDE CAFE - DAYINT. MONTREAL PD OFFICE - , I'm saddened by yourloss and touched by loyalty. Butlet's focus on the matter at walked right past me. We madeeye contact. I know he recognizedme. It was my son. A motherknows these things. I will signanything, I will swear before ajudge. And thank you, I do haveall my faculties and friends whocan vouch for my you talk to this man, he is aman now?WOMANYes. Of course he's a man. He'dbe thirty-two. And no, I did notspeak with him. I ran.(low, serious)Inspector, my son was very, verydisturbed.

7 He had seriousemotional problems. I assure youhe was.(a beat)Is. Is a dangerous hands her some The police departmentcannot resolve your problem. Youneed to get permits from thecoroner and health and safetydepartment. You pay for anexhumation. You have someonequalified examine the remains. Ifit is the wrong body, the ForensicExaminer will confirm there is aproblem and call us. Then we openan investigation.(a beat)No, Quebec City police willinvestigate. He is buried there,no?The Woman bristles. Stands, takes the Inspector. He is woods. In the mountains. Near a roaring river. Alog vacation cabin is being erected by BACK HOE digs a trench. The scoop snags something -- awetsuit -- worn by a long dead corpse, twirling slowly,hanging from the bucket's steel teeth.

8 The BACK HOEOPERATOR jumps off the huge machine, stares at theheadless body he has just dragged from its gather and call the TO:INSPECTOR LAVAL and INSPECTOR REYNAUD, rock solid FrenchCanadians, pin photographs of the body we just saw on thewall. Laval steps back. Takes in the LAVAL(subtitled French)Think she will like this?Reynaud shrugs. Laval tosses him a LAVAL(subtitled French)We are lucky the FBI is sendingher. She is the Michael Jordan ofcriminal profiling.(off Reynaud's look)The Guy Le Fleuer of will save our PHONE RINGS. Laval LAVAL(subtitled French)Inspector Laval.(a beat)Have the airline check around baggage claim.(to Reynaud)She was on the flight but theycan't find 's CELL RINGS.(CONTINUED)EXT. FOREST CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAYINT. TASK FORCE ROOM - REYNAUD(into phone)Oui?

9 Reynaud grabs his coat. Turns to REYNAUD(subtitled French)I know where she TO:We hear BREATHING and the SOFT RUSH of a RIVER. Soft,rhythmic. Then eyes open, reflect moonlight. The FOOTSTEPS ! A FLASHLIGHT turns on. REVEALING:GRACE VANDERHOLT lies in the grave where the body wasdiscovered. It has been excavated by criminologists, thesoil sifted, the grass and brush removed. Grace sits holds out her FBI creds, shielding her eyes fromthe bright 's okay, I'm supposed to The LIGHT goes off. REVEALING Laval and LAVALA gent Vanderholt, we requestedyour help. I'm Inspector Laval,this is Inspector Look, I'm not ready to talkto you guys yet. I need a littlemore time and Laval trade looks, walk toward two UNIFORMS guarding the site.(CONTINUED)CONTINUED:DARKNESSEXT.

10 FOREST CONSTRUCTION SITE - lays back down. Sighs. Concentrates on thesounds. The RIVER. WIND in the trees. Then: LAUGHTER( ).GRACEW ould you mind trading one linerssomewhere else? I need to hearthe natural sounds. I policemen have gathered in a chummy knot. Lavalgestures for them to walk down the steps out of the grave. Sits by it. Writes somenotes. Everything glistens in the moonlight, takes it in for a : HOWLING, the lonely song of a distant rises, crosses to the river, to a big gravel as a campsite complete with a large fire pit. Gracesits by the fire HOWLING, CLOSER this looks down river, SEES the glowing eyes of a TIMBERWOLF staring from a clump of trees. The animal stares abeat, then runs off. Grace has the walks quietly toward the trees.